Hiring The Right Integrator

As the latest technology capabilities are adopted by healthcare, hospitals face the challenge of making sure technology investments deliver a favorable Return On Investment (ROI). In this current regulatory and reimbursement environment, meeting the challenge of expenses growing faster than revenues requires delivering patient care more efficiently and cost effectively to survive. Healthcare administrators whose focus on cost efficiency and delivering a sustainable ROI are prepping their facility to survive the tumultuous demands placed on them.

For example: Shaving off seven minutes between OR procedures equates to significant savings and potential income.

Shaving off time is no easy task. But when one uses technology to manage patient flow, they can become more efficient and truly experience an ROI relationship with that technology. Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS) not only monitors patient flow, but the solution can also help facilities understand if assets are properly managed, workflows optimized, temperatures monitored properly, and security can be notified when staff is in duress. These are all RTLS solutions that help deliver an ROI to the bottom line.

But before deciding on a RTLS solution, one needs to understand the implications associated with this capital investment. What are the lamp lit questions to ask to ensure a more effective solution for your facility? Rarely is it a one size fits all option. Installing an RTLS solution takes lots of forethought and selecting an integrator to make it all work together is the first step.

Yes, selecting an integrator BEFORE selecting the hardware and software is crucial because the right integrator guides the facility through the lamp lit questions every step in the buying process! And that is the first question one should ask when considering RTLS...

Does the integrator guide and advise your team through the complex buying process helping with the many decision points along the way?
- The right integrator should be your go to for all your RTLS questions. They should understand the available technologies so they can guide your team to make the right purchasing decision.
Does the integrator ask questions to understand your goals? Are they educating your team on the various RTLS options such as:
- What is the right infrastructure that will grow with your facilities needs? Vertically integrated or best of breed approach? (psst…this will be an upcoming blog) Passive tags? Active tags? Or a combination of both passive and active?
- What is the software solution that will achieve and deliver business intelligence with an acceptable ROI? Is it one vendor or two? If more than one vendor, how do the two systems integrate?
Does the integrator provide detailed descriptions and floor plans?
- Not all floor plans are created equal. Did they invest time into providing an actionable plan and detailed descriptors that are unique to your facility?
Are they experienced with complex integration?
- Are they honest about what is possible and what is not? And how do you know if they are being honest or not? Sometimes telling someone that this is not the best option for them is tough and it might mean a lost sale, but it is the right option in the end.
What is the integrator’s reputation within the hospital? What is the integrator's reputation with vendors they support?
- Being honest with integrity is key to doing business. Finding an integrator whose corporate culture is honest with integrity, and whose reputation supports that, alleviates concern about who to work with.
Are they knowledgeable and can they guide your team through the entire process? Can they consult, quote, install, maintain and train on a wide variety of complex systems?
- RTLS infrastructure and software technology are changing at such a rapid pace, having an integrator that is knowledgeable in not only the technology but in the buying process is key to guiding a team to make sound corporate decisions. Working with an integrator that gets the importance of each step is key. Without these steps, the system has potential to fail and be orphaned three years down the road.
- At IMS we are proud to still have our first Patient Security system customer. They are still using the patient security system IMS installed, supported and trained staff on over 19 years ago.
Can they maintain a variety of infrastructures and technologies? What about different software versions?
- It is not unrealistic to install Version 1 this year and Version 7 two years later. Can your integrator support all the versions and technology in a 24/7 environment?

The pace of technology is changing rapidly. It is often difficult for hospital administrators and staff to stay on top of the all the possibilities. When one begins researching an RTLS project the technology you started with may not even be the technology you end with. To ensure the future of the system, one needs to ensure that all versions and all technology is properly maintained, supported and championed. Hiring an experienced knowledgeable integrator is your key to making it all work within your hospital.

The team at IMS has a wealth of experience working with complex systems. We have been successful because we do it right. We represent a wide range of solutions so that managing technological advancements is done smartly and cost effectively. This is where we shine. We ask questions to find the best solution and then we make it all work together, today and in the future.